The Americans ended up with the gold medal from the World Junior Championship they deeply desired, expect it was the Canadian Jake Bean heading to Kennewick, Wash., instead of Team USA winning gold in Buffalo, N.Y.
Slightly more than 24 hours removed from receiving his gold medal, local defenceman Bean was dealt from the Calgary Hitmen to the Tri-City Americans for a package of five assets that will no doubt help the Hitmen moving forward.
After seeing that former Kootenay Ice captain Cale Fleury landed two player prospects, a sixth-round pick and a conditional pick months before the trade deadline, people of the Western Hockey League began to resemble Kevin Malone wandering around the conference room on an episode of The Office, clamoring, “What does a bean mean?”
Would the Hitmen trade Bean? How much was it going to cost teams to bag the best defenceman available on the market?
Late Saturday night, the answer to those questions finally arrived when the Hitmen hauled in a pair of players and three future picks for the Carolina Hurricanes former first-round pick.
“The deal got done really quickly, but it took time early on to weed things out,” said Hitmen General Manager Jeff Chynoweth, who mentioned that there were eight teams in on the Bean sweepstakes. “I think some teams came on later as they played better and saw where they fit in the big picture. That created a little more supply and demand so to speak. As things went on, we were quite adamant what we wanted to get for Jake and we weren’t wavering from that. We think he’s the premier defenceman in the Western Hockey League and we stuck to our guns.”
Coming to the city of Calgary will be Carson Focht, a 17-year-old forward and the soon-to-be 18-year-old Dakota Krebs, a somewhat local Okotoks product who is playing in his third year in the WHL.
There was also of bundle of picks that are noteworthy and contain massive implications moving forward for the Hitmen.
They received the Americans’ second-round pick this year, their first-round pick next year and their second-round pick in 2020.
“The price is always going to be high when you go after a premier guy like Jake Bean. When you’re a buyer, you overpay, you have to in order to get the player you want,” said Americans General Manager Bob Tory. “We wanted to improve our back end and Jake certainly helps us with that. I like our team, where we are headed and our depth chart of guys to come, so we could afford to give up all those picks.”
Trading Bean was the only move Chynoweth was required to pull off in a year where the Hitmen are on pace for their fourth-worst season in franchise history and when they are not contenders in the Eastern Conference. Even the Calgarian kid had a sense a trade was in the works.
“It was something that was inevitable. I thought it was going to happen and then I thought there was a 100 per cent chance after they moved Beck [Malenstyn] and Geno [Matteo Gennaro],” said Bean.
Bean leaves the Hitmen third on their all-time assist list (133) and is one of their greatest defencemen of all-time.
Growing up in Calgary, Bean attended the Edge School where he spent a pair of seasons with three different programs, amassing 27 goals and 50 assists in 68 games. Undrafted by the WHL, Bean was listed by the Hitmen and arrived in his 16-year-old season and quickly racked up 39 points in 51 games. The following season, he set the franchise record for goals by a defenceman with 24.
During the media availability Sunday afternoon, Bean became emotional when looking back on his time with the Hitmen.
“I have so many memories and I am so grateful for everything here. Mike [Moore] gave me a chance and listed me at 15 when no one else did. I am so fortunate with all the coaches, Frenchie [Mark French] and Brent Kisio, I’m just really grateful for everything,” said Bean.
The move makes sense for the Hitmen. Entering last night’s game with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, they sat seven points back of the Hurricanes for the final divisional playoff spot in the Central Division.
The move also bolsters an American’s blue line already featuring a pair of NHL prospects in Juuso Valimaki (Calgary Flames) and Dylan Coghlan (Vegas Golden Knights).
“Jake is an elite offensive player. He brings character to the rink, he comes from a quality family, he’s professional, a high pick in the draft and coming off two medals in the World Juniors,” said Tory. “He’s certainly going to help us in transition and on the power play, and it allows us to have an elite defenceman on the ice at all times.”
The Americans are fighting for their lives in arguably the toughest division. At 21-12-5-0 and 47 points, they sit two up on the Seattle Thunderbirds (20-14-4-1) in the first Western Wildcard spot, but only two points back of the U.S. Division leading Portland Winterhawks (23-13-1-2). Loading up with Bean should help them jostle for playoff position.
Bean donned the Hitmen colours for the final time Dec. 10 in the annual The Brick Teddy Bear Toss Game, before leaving to join Team Canada at their World Junior developmental camp.
When he left, he was the Hitmen’s leading scorer with five goals and 27 points.
Luckily, for Hitmen fans, the Americans are the only team from the U.S. Division yet to make their biennial trip to the Scotiabank Saddledome. The new-look Americans will be at the ‘Dome on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.
In his first year behind the wheel, Chynoweth has now sold some high-end talent and received a whack-load of future prospects that will undoubtedly position this team for Ed Chynoweth Cup contention for years to come.
In what turned out to be a fruitful 2015 Bantam Draft, the Hitmen have landed a pair of former top-10 picks.
Focht was selected seventh overall by the Americans in 2015, three picks ahead of Riley Stotts, who has been nothing short of a revelation since joining the Hitmen via another monster Chynoweth trade.
A Regina product, Focht debuted in the WHL as a 15-year-old, playing in a pair of games. He was coming off an incredible bantam AAA season that saw him lead the South Saskatchewan Minor Hockey League with 39 goals, 31 assists and 70 points in 38 games for the Notre Dame Hounds.
Growing every year, Focht has already doubled his production as a 16-year-old, when he scored three goals and eight points in 62 games.
“Carson is a skilled, young forward who is getting better every year,” said Tory. “With young talent, everyone develops at a different age. There is no ceiling with those players. If he continues to work and get stronger, he could be a premier forward in the WHL.”
Focht also spent time with Team Canada White during the 2015-16 World Hockey Challenge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., scoring one goal and supplying two assists in six games. That’s where he also shared a locker room with current Hitmen forward and former 19th overall pick in the same Bantam Draft, Tristen Nielsen.
Since the Hitmen’s top defensive pairing of Bean and Vladislav Yeryomenko departed for the World Juniors, the back end has been running on fumes with the injuries to Andrew Viggars, Jameson Murray and now Drea Espositio.
In those absences, the Hitmen have relied on the 15-year-old former first rounder Luke Prokop and listed 16-year-old defenceman Devan Klassen for a combined 17 games since Dec. 13.
Krebs will instantly solidify that back end before Yeryomenko rejoins the team, seeing as he’s logged 151 games through three seasons in the U.S. Division.
Playing near his hometown will be nice, but Krebs is most excited to be in the same division as his younger brother, Peyton.
“That was the first thing I thought about when I heard about the trade. The fact that we are now rivals is even cooler,” said Dakota.
The Krebs brothers will only meet once more this season, when the Hitmen host the Kootenay Ice March 14 at the ‘Dome.
He’s never been a point producer, even going back to his bantam AA days with the Okotoks Oilers, but Dakota will bring what feels like a lifetime of experience into a locker room that skated five defenceman born in the 2000s in their last game against the Moose Jaw Warriors.
“I definitely gained valuable experience in the playoffs last year and just the process of becoming a playoff team. That’s exactly what I’m hoping to bring to this team,” said Dakota.
Through trades, Chynoweth has now added a combined height of 12-foot-7 to his blue line, with Dakota and Dom Schmiemann.
Now, the Hitmen and their updated roster trudge through the bogged-down Central. Now only five points back of the Hurricanes following last night’s blowout win at the Enmax Centre, the team and Chynoweth still believe they are a playoff team.
Making up ground will be hard to do, seen as the Hitmen only play 12 of their remaining 32 games against Central Division opponents and with a slightly road-heavy schedule.
It wasn’t easy to trade away a homegrown player that was so valuable to the franchise. Chynoweth hopes to watch Bean pursue a Memorial Cup later this spring. Because of what Bean was able to produce with his time with the Hitmen, he might have provided the foundation for Chynoweth and the Hitmen to chase down a Memorial Cup of their own one day.
